A Summer on Set
When I first read the script for The Grand Strand film, I knew that working on this movie would be a special experience. My initial thoughts were, “Wow, I get the opportunity to play a super fun character and film at the BEACH—count me in!” Since I have worked on other independent film projects, I had a sense of what to expect. However, working on The Grand Strand exceeded anything I could have imagined.
What made this project so special? I’ve taken some time to think about this, and I’ve come up with four key qualities that contributed to this being an exceptionally unique, meaningful, and most of all, fun experience.
1 - The Story
Luke Lowder, the writer and director of The Grand Strand, wrote a phenomenal script. The script itself is loosely based upon some experiences from Luke’s childhood, and he gave every character so much depth and meaning.
The story follows Levi, played by Wilds Clemmons, a fourteen-year-old boy who is being raised by his elderly grandfather on their North Carolina chicken farm. I play Levi’s cousin and best friend, Dalton. Levi comes to visit my family at Myrtle Beach for the summer, and he has to decide if he wants to stay with my crazy family or enter foster care. Levi and Dalton are joined by the character Lefty, played by one of my real-life best friends, Amelia Salazar.
It was a blast playing a lead role alongside Wilds and Amelia, and I really loved that the lead actors in the film are teens from the Carolinas, where the story takes place. We are all either 15 or 16 years old, and we were tasked with helping to carry a film. I think we did a pretty solid job, and we definitely had fun. We were joined by several other teen and young adult actors, and we seriously had the best time together.
I have never played a character quite like Dalton, which made him especially fun to portray. Dalton instigates a lot of the action in the film, as he introduces Levi to the good life at the beach. He’s funny, risky, and always looking for a good time, while also having insecurities and complicated family situations. Thus, it was rewarding to play a character with a lot of depth who shows a wide range of emotions.
I really appreciated working for a director who also wrote the script. Luke wrote this script over the span of four years, and I’m still so honored that he trusted me to help bring his incredible story to life. I asked Luke lots of questions about Dalton and loved learning more about the nuances of the script and my character. Luke’s incredibly well-written story was the foundation that made this such an amazing project.
2 - The Location
Have you ever been somewhere that you know must be full of great stories? That describes Apache Family Campground, where I filmed most of my scenes. Apache is a very close knit community of people who live in trailer homes on a beautiful stretch of Myrtle Beach. Residents ride through the campground on golf carts kicking up dust and playing all kinds of music on their way to or from somewhere fun. It’s an authentic, southern, only-in-America type of cool location.
We filmed mostly in the month of June, so as expected, the beach was always busy. We often filmed right next to tourists, and we would chat with them between takes. Most of the people had never seen a film set, so they thought it was really cool!
During the second week of shooting, we had our first overnight shoot at Apache. I arrived on set at about 9:00 pm, and I finished at 6:30 am. Immediately after I wrapped, Wilds, Amelia and I ran down to the beach just in time to watch the sunrise over the ocean. We were exhausted from working through the night and strung out on too much sugar and caffeine. However, watching the sunrise at the beach after filming an all-nighter is an awesome memory that I’ll never forget.
3 - The Community
One of my favorite parts of life off-set was hanging out with the cast and crew in our dorm building at Coastal Carolina University, where most of us were housed for the month. I got to know everyone very quickly, and we all became one big family. Nearly every day, I would go out to eat, play basketball, or play cards with people in the cast and crew. The friendships we developed off-set translated into a smooth working environment on-set. We found a great balance between work and play, and grew to see each other both as colleagues and friends.
4 - The Mentorship
The Grand Strand is part of Local Cinema Studios’ “Get on Set” initiative, which helps to bridge the gap between academia and working in the industry. The producers brought in experienced film professionals to lead each department area. They mentored the college students and other young people working on the project, passing along their knowledge of how to do things like change a camera lens, slate with a clapperboard, or create fake vomit…yep.
The industry pros were very supportive and made mentorship and learning part of our everyday life. The small gap in age between me and the crew made it very easy for me to build connections with everyone, and I believe these relationships benefited us when we were working. I was able to ask questions to people who have been in the industry for years and develop a deeper sense for what goes into making a movie. I learned more about the business side of filmmaking, which will help me as I begin to explore college majors and future career paths.
Filming The Grand Strand was quite literally one of the best experiences of my life. As I move forward in my acting career, I’ll definitely keep in mind how important these four areas are to a production. The combination of filming by the beach, living at a university with the rest of the cast and crew, and telling an amazing story provided for an incredible experience. The opportunity to learn from industry pros taught me so much that I will take with me for years to come. I’m so proud to be part of The Grand Strand, and the only thing better than filming it will be watching it on screen!